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Pan-blues criticize president's plans as lacking originality

The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)-People First Party (PFP) alliance yesterday said that President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) latest statements concerning cross-strait issues "lacked innovation and implementability."

In a news conference with both local and foreign media yesterday, Chen, among various other points set forth with regard to cross-strait interaction, called for the signing of an agreement between the both sides of the Taiwan Strait on the establishment of a framework for peace and stability as well as an exchange of envoys.

"We think that the president only brought up issues but not answers to those issues. We highly doubt whether President Chen Shui-bian can really implement the program he spoke about," said PFP caucus leader Chou Hsi-wei (周錫瑋), adding that Chen's comments were "empty words."

During the press conference, Chen also proposed setting up a demilitarized zone on both sides of the Strait. The idea was similar to that outlined by KMT Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) last Saturday when he pledged that he would withdraw all military forces from Taiwan's outlying islands in the Kinmen group if he wins the presidential election. Lien also said that he would travel to China to ask Beijing to remove its missiles aimed at Taiwan if he takes office.

The pan-blue alliance criticized Chen's call for a cross-strait demilitarization zone, saying that such an idea was contradictory to one of the two questions Chen announced for his planned referendum, as he plans to ask the people whether they support enhancing the nation's defensive capabilities should China refuse to withdraw the missiles it had targeted at Taiwan.

Meanwhile, with the presidential election approaching, PFP Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) yesterday fired a volley of criticism, lambasting the Chen administration.

Referring to the accusation made by the former chairman of the Tuntex Group, Chen Yu-hao (陳由豪), against the president, Soong said that "it said very clearly in the letters that whatever needs to be done, [the DPP administration] could get it done with enough money."

In three open letters, faxed to select media and opposition lawmakers on Monday, Chen Yu-hao said that Chen Shui-bian had accepted his donations in the run-up to the 2000 presidential election and the Taipei City mayoral race in 1998. Chen Yu-hao is one of the nation's 10 most-wanted fugitives, and was indicted on charges of breach of trust in August 2002

Stressing that Chen Yu-hao's letters were not at all part of a scheme developed by his party, Soong went on and lambasted the Chen administration of being corrupt, branding the Presidential Office "the black-gold epicenter."
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